All I Want For Christmas Is You - Penelope Ward Page 0,62
Alaska on my own.”
“No doubt,” she says. “The car will meet you at the other end and I’ll detail everything in the email. Call me whenever you need me.”
“Okay.” Clancy’s been my rock and has become one of my closest friends. Eighteen months ago, my husband of ten years was imprisoned for insider trading, and if that wasn’t devastating enough, having his private life dragged through the courts was the ultimate betrayal. He played me like a fiddle, the real Wolf of Wall Street. He was the rock star stockbroker, the Harvard lawyer who came from one of the most respected families in New York. Handsome, wealthy and powerful.
And I was the fool, so blinded by love that I had absolutely no idea of who I was really married to. The press covered the stories of his embezzlements, blackmail, Cocaine, high end prostitutes and oh, there’s the small matter of a love child he had with another woman two years ago, that he wanted to know nothing about. It was revealed in the courts that he paid the mother out to never reveal his identity to the boy. What kind of man deserts his own child?
While I was working my ass off to get us ahead, he was ripping people off and fucking around.
Asshole.
“I’m sorry, that flight is closed.”
“What?” I frown as I glance at my watch. “What do you mean? I still have plenty of time.”
“It’s out of my hands.” The airport attendant shrugs. “It closed ten minutes ago.”
I close my eyes in horror. Fuck. “I have to be in Anchorage tomorrow,” I say.
“Nothing I can do,” she says casually.
I run my hands through my hair as I begin to feel my temperature rise. “Okay, can I get onto another flight please?”
The attendant types into the computer and reads the screen. “Unfortunately, there isn’t another vacant seat until Friday.”
“How is that possible?” My eyes widen in horror. “What do you mean? That’s three days away.”
“You’re flying to Anchorage in Alaska.”
“And?”
“And limited amount of flights go there.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Oh… this is just great.” On my way to the airport this morning I found out that there has been a counter offer by Miles Media and I need to get there urgently to close the deal before Tristan Miles swoops in and steals it from under me.
“Sorry.”
Fuck’s sake. “Umm, okay.” I try to think of a solution. “What other airlines fly to Anchorage?”
“Only two others, American and United. And they have both tried to get seats on our flight on Friday as they oversold their seats.”
“So, they’re full, too?”
“I’m afraid so.”
I stare at her flatly. “Out of JFK in New York…. the biggest airport in America, only three airlines go there?” I scoff.
“Anchorage seems like a very popular destination.”
“Apparently so.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “This is a disaster.”
I text Clancy.
Can you get me a charter, please?
I missed the flight.
No flights available until Friday.
She types into her computer and reads the screen. “I could get you onto a flight to Fairbanks, Alaska, in an hour. But there is only one seat left and if you don’t get it now, it may sell out, too.”
I glance at my phone waiting for Clancy’s reply. She hasn’t read my message, which means she isn’t on her phone, which means she’s probably throwing up right now.
Shit, the poor girl is probably throwing up right now. She can’t organise a fucking emergency charter plane, she’s too unwell.
The woman on the desk continues to type while reading out the information. “From there you could hire a car and drive the rest of the way. I mean it’s not ideal, but it would get you there for tomorrow.”
“How long is the drive from Fairbanks to Anchorage?” I ask.
She googles it. “It says here seven hours.”
“What time does the flight get into Fairbanks?”
“Six o’clock this evening. You could rent a car and use google maps and still make it by near midnight.”
I stare at her as I go over my options.
“You could call ahead and rent yourself a car,” she says to try and be helpful. “It might actually be fun?”
“I guess.” I force a smile. Or I can just arrange for a car to pick me up. “Okay, I’ll take that flight. Thank you.” It will be easy from there, a lot easier than it is from here. At least I’ll be in the right state.
She types into her computer and then hands me the ticket. “You need to hurry; the flight